US Army ships its newest air-defense tech to units in Asia, Europe
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The U.S. Army plans to send major elements of its most modernized air and missile defense capabilities to the Pacific and European theaters, according to Maj. Gen. Frank Lozano, program executive officer for missiles and space.
For example, the service will send two of its Lower-Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensors, or LTAMDS, to Guam, Lozano told Defense News in an exclusive interview at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.
Additionally, the Army will send an Indirect Fire Protection Capability platoon with prototype launchers to South Korea and will also send some of its Integrated Battle Command System capability to Europe to modernize a Patriot air defense battalion there.
Lozano had been tasked by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to examine the possibility of sending new air and missile defense capabilities still in the prototype phase to global hotspots.
Both the Raytheon-developed LTAMDS and Leidos' Dynetics-made IFPC have seen successful test events over the past year, leading to George's push for testing advanced technology in real-life formations even before the development phase has formally concluded.
LTAMDS is nearing a production decision and will then go into initial operational test and evaluation that will wrap up in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026. Another LTAMDS radar will be sent to Guam in 2027, which will put three of the powerful, 360-degree radars on the island as part of complete air and missile defense architecture there.
The Army is taking its two best performing prototypes, which are now being spruced up after developmental testing with Raytheon, and will begin preparing to ship the radars to Guam in May. They should arrive in June, Lozano said.
The service developed LTAMDS to replace the current radar in Patriot air and missile defense systems, improving its detection and discrimination capability and giving it the ability to see threats from 360 degrees.
The IFPC platoon will go to South Korea to help the Army work on concepts to create a composite air- and missile-defense battalion. This effort is being led by Brig. Gen. Pat Costello, commander of the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command in the Pacific theater.
The IFPC system is designed to detect, track and defeat cruise missiles and drones as well as rockets, artillery and mortars at fixed and semi-fixed sites. It currently fires AIM-9X missiles but the Army is pursuing alternative interceptor options.
The Army is also taking some of its pre-low-rate initial production IBCS capability, which is a new command-and-control system for the service's Patriot air and missile defense system, to modernize the 5-7 Patriot Air Defense Battalion in the 10th AAMDC in Europe.
IBCS equipment is now on a ship and will arrive next month, Lozano said.
While this is the first IBCS capability to be received by a unit outside of the United States, Poland was the first to get the system for its own Patriot forces in 2023.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
US Army rolls out $13M smart rifle scopes that auto-target and take down enemy drones in combat
The US Army is giving its soldiers a high-tech edge in the fight against drones, and it's called SMASH. During a live-fire training exercise on June 6 in Germany, a soldier with the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment used the SMASH 2000L smart scope mounted on an M4A1 rifle to target drones in the sky. The demo was part of Project Flytrap, a multinational training event. The SMASH 2000L, made by Israeli company Smart Shooter Ltd., is no ordinary sight. It uses cameras, sensors, and artificial intelligence to track targets and decides the perfect time to fire, according to reporting from Army Recognition. Once a drone is locked in, the system controls the trigger and only fires when a hit is guaranteed. In May, the Army awarded Smart Shooter a $13 million contract to begin delivering these scopes to troops under its Transformation In Contact (TIC 2.0) program. The goal is to quickly get new, useful tech into soldiers' hands. The smart scope weighs about 2.5 pounds and fits onto standard-issue rifles. 3 A soldier with the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, tested a SMASH 2000L smart scope mounted on an M4A1 rifle during a training exercise on June 6. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Elijah Magaña It has already been used by NATO partners and tested in combat zones. In the ongoing Ukraine war, both sides use less expensive drones to drop explosives or spy on troops. In Israel, terrorists have flown quadcopters into military positions. These small drones are fast, quiet, and deadly. 3 The smart scope helps target drones in the sky. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Elijah Magaña 3 Rifles with this new technology only fire when a hit is guaranteed. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Elijah Magaña Until now, stopping drones often meant using big, complex systems but SMASH changes that. With SMASH, a single soldier can knock a drone out of the sky without needing backup. The Army did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Business of Fashion
an hour ago
- Business of Fashion
French Senate Backs Law to Curb Ultra Fast-Fashion
France's Senate approved a revised version of a law regulating fast fashion on Tuesday, which if implemented would ban advertising by fast-growing Chinese e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu. Senators in the upper house of parliament voted almost unanimously for a modified version of a bill passed by France's lower house last year, which aims to reduce the environmental impact of the textile industry. Critics say the low-priced garments produced by fast-fashion chains drive excessive consumption and waste, exacerbating the textile sector's impact on the environment. An amended version of the bill distinguishes between 'ultra' fast fashion and 'classic' fast fashion, however, imposing less onerous restrictions on European fast-fashion players like Zara and Kiabi, but drawing criticism from environmental groups. The 'clarifications (made by the Senate) make it possible to target players who ignore environmental, social, and economic realities, notably Shein and Temu, without penalising the European ready-to-wear sector,' said Jean-Francois Longeot, chair of the Senate's Committee on Regional Planning and Sustainable Development. 'Shein is not a fast fashion company,' said the Chinese firm in a statement in response to the vote, adding that its model was 'part of the solution, not the problem'. Faced with competition from very low-priced products, several French brands are experiencing significant difficulties, such as Jennyfer, which went into liquidation at the end of April, and NafNaf, which has been in receivership since May. The law would also introduce penalties for both fast and ultra fast-fashion companies if they don't meet certain environmental criteria, reaching at least 10 euros per item of clothing by 2030, or up to 50 percent of the product's price excluding tax. The government needs to notify the European Commission of the vote, and will then need to set up a joint committee to reach a compromise between the Senate and lower house versions of the law before it is implemented. By Florence Loeve; Editors: Dominique Patton and Mark Potter Learn more: Tariffs Won't Kill Fast Fashion, But They Might Kill Sustainable Fashion Some have hailed America's escalating trade war as a means to finally curb overconsumption of cheap goods. Instead, the economic hardship its likely to bring on will eviscerate efforts to transform the industry for the better, writes Kenneth P. Pucker.
Business Insider
an hour ago
- Business Insider
Blackstone is going big in Europe: 'We are seeing signs of change,' says Schwarzman
Europe is back in favor with the world's biggest private equity firm. Blackstone is planning to go big in Europe, CEO and co-founder Stephen Schwarzman told the Financial Times on Tuesday. Schwarzman said that Blackstone is planning to invest at least $500 billion in Europe over the next 10 years, citing "signs of change" in the continent, where the firm's current investments stand at around $350 billion. "European leaders are generally becoming more sensitive to the fact that their growth rates over the past decade have been quite low and it's not sustainable for them," he told the FT. "So they are looking at putting pressure on the European Union regarding deregulation. We think Europe has the prospect of doing better than they had in the past," he said. The finance titan said Blackstone is increasingly bullish on Europe, not just because of lower company valuations compared to US peers or lower financing costs, but also due to growing confidence in the region's economic reforms. "We see it as a major opportunity for us," Schwarzman told Bloomberg Television on Tuesday. Blackstone's positivity on Europe comes as winds of change are blowing in the continent's favor. European governments are planning to boost spending, particularly in defense. Germany, the largest economy in Europe, has also announced spending plans on infrastructure after years of conservative fiscal management. The prospect of growth has sent the Stoxx Europe 600 index up 9% this year to date. Germany's DAX index is up 20% over the same period. The upbeat view toward Europe contrasts with pessimism at the World Economic Forum early this year. At the Davos, Switzerland event, delegates bemoaned the continent's risk aversion, crippling regulations, and isolated markets. "I don't see Europe moving forward enough; I see Europe still focusing on backward looking too much," said BlackRock's CEO, Larry Fink, at the conference. In contrast, WEF participants hailed the US economy in anticipation of President Donald Trump's second term, which they had expected to usher in a pro-business climate. However, Trump's trade war has injected uncertainties into the US's economic outlook and markets. The US stock market cratered in the days following "Liberation Day," but has since recovered all of those losses. The changing market dynamics also came amid a sell-off in US assets, including the dollar. Some analysts have termed this the "Sell America" trade.
